U.S. VS. NIXON

1
U.S. VS. NIXON

• THE WATERGATE SCANDAL
• JULY 24 1974

2
Richard Nixon

• Born January 9th, 1913
• Died April 22nd, 1994
• Was the 37th president of the United States
• Served two terms, starting in 1974 and ending
  during his second due to resignation.

3
The Watergate

• The Watergate was a headquarters for the
  democratic party.
• Nixon had a special group of people known to him
  as the Plumbers.
• Their job was to put eavesdropping devices in
  certain rooms so that they could listen in on
  conversations.

4
People Involved

• Richard Nixon
• James W. Mcord
• Bernard Baker
• Virgilio Gonzalez
• Eugino Martinez
• Frank Sturgis

5
How They Got Caught

• One of the security guards at the Watergate
  noticed that a door to one of the meeting rooms
  had been completely removed because the
  Plumbers had failed to pick the lock. The
  security guard called for back up and caught the
  plumbers talking into a radio to an unknown
  person. They were all wearing surgical gloves and
  had eavesdropping equipment and other electronic
  devices on their person.

6
Executive Privilege

• When Richard Nixon was tried for the Watergate
  Scandal, he tried to use executive privilege to
  keep from giving the courts tapes and audio
  recordings.
• EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE MEANS THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN
  REFUSE TO RELEASE INFORMATION THAT WOULD THREATEN
  NATIONAL SECURITY.

7
Arguments for the United States

• The Presidents power to claim executive privilege
  may not be invoked to deny the courts access to
  evidence needed in a criminal proceeding.
• This dispute can be properly heard in the federal
  courts.

8
Arguments for Nixon

• The constitutional scheme of separation of powers
  grants the president the privilege of withholding
  information from the other branches of
  government.
• This power is absolute and it is vital where
  high-level communications are involved.

9

• COURT WAS TO DECIDE WHETHER THE PRESIDENT COULD
  USE EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE TO WITH-HOLD TAPES AND
  DOCUMENTS INVLOVING THE WATERGATE.

10

• IN 1974, THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT THE
  PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES COULD NOT USE
  EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE TO HOLD BACK EVIDENCE NEEDED
  IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL